Does Sex Sell You?

[sprice]

while it doesn't affect what I may buy, if your turning through the pages of a gun magazine or something somehow your eyes are imediatly drawn there...

 

[Cosmoline]

Unless by "sex" you mean high grade curly maple with fifteen coats of hand rubbed BLO and lots of stripes, with perfectly-fitted lock and furnishings, the answer is no. Seeing half dressed women in a gun ad is on par with seeing fake explosions and flying ninjas in a gun ad. I am LESS prone to take the featured product seriously. I may ask "why isn't she dressed?" Or I may ask, "why are those ninja's pants exploding?" But I won't be tempted to buy the ammo.

Though in full disclosure, I did once buy some x-treme tactical "SWAT" .30-30 ammo just for the humor of it.

 

[Beaux Nehr]

That blonde in the cocktail dress from the GSI ads, though...

Good lord!

 

[wishin]

Unless you're actually selling sex or porn, I can't conceive of someone buying a product based on a sexually motivated ad.

 

[A and O]

The Kahr lady looks like she was hit by a Kahr.

 

[Nick5182]

Honestly, no. The only ads that pique my interest at all are anything with a 1911 in them. Everything else I decide to buy I hear about through people or see on youtube and read the reviews online.

 

[Dimis]

nope the khar girls are ugly now that they dropped the cute brunette but i still wont buy a khar based on the girl in the add just like i wont buy beer or a car based on the hot girl in the commercials

If i am correct,EAA gun commercial uses a woman in a short tight dress and tight shirt

and a mustache (look close) she has a 5 o clock lip broom at least on my HDTV

 

[rugerman]

only if they come to my house

 

[Caliper_Mi]

"Thin is Sexy" with scantily clad women in provocative poses.

Scantily clad? Provocative poses?

Either you need to get out more or I need to read more of the gun mags you do! The ads I've seen just show women in evening wear holding guns.

For the price Kahr charges, I doubt anyone is affected by their ads like that. The price tag will sober them up quick!

 

[pty101]

I dont care what companies do in their ads. I buy something because I know its good quality and I want to buy it. Sex in an ad wont make me spend the hundreds of dollars that a new firearm will cost.

 

[GunsBeerFreedom]

Personally, I think these ads are the perfect marketing tool. They're eye catching, especially to men (your target demographic). Women who see them may be more turned on (no pun intended) to look further into guns.

 

[jbauch357]

I don't buy products because they have pretty models, but I sure don't get upset when a calendar/poster arrives with some good lookin ladies after I plop down a grand or so on gear.

 

[possum]

no sex doesn't sell me when it comes to guns and gear, or anything really for that matter. so far i have not been impressed with the women in ads.

 

[ilikepancakes]

Unless you're actually selling sex or porn, I can't conceive of someone buying a product based on a sexually motivated ad.

Well, makeup comes to mind. Cologne/perfume/"body spray". Certain clothing styles. Exercise equipment. Even though the products aren't explicitly sexual, they do affect appearance so saying they will make you sexier is a good advertising move. You also have to consider the demographic being targeted. Some people will go out and buy a specific deodorant or alcohol if they think it will up their chances of getting laid.

I answered no since I do not make a conscious decision to buy products based on their advertising methods. But this poll should be taken with a grain, because if an advertisement is done right you won't even know it got you.

 

[TexasBill]

First, let's deal with the "Kahr girls." Most likely, they are the best-looking girl in the office staff or somebody's girlfriend. This is very common, especially in low-budget advertising. BTW: If you ever want to see girls unappealing enough to turn you gay, check out the high-buck fashion ads in Harper's Bazaar sometime.

Second, Flo is perky, cute and has a great smile but I can't imagine her as a sex object. Somebody's sister, maybe. Or the nice girl next door who bakes cookies. Besides, she's really 40 years old and married (True!).

Third, sex in advertising works well enough that it has survived more than a century of so-called moral outrage. The gorgeous girl or handsome guy (they work well, too. Remember the Marlboro Man or Tom Selleck in the NRA promotions?) get your attention, hopefully long enough for you to find out what the ad is promoting. The mistake is in the saying "sex sells." It does nothing of the sort. You might be bedazzled by the beautiful blonde but, unless you're about 12, you know darn well she doesn't come with the product. If the product can't be sold on its own merits, it's not going to sell, even if the girl in the ad is naked and holding a sign with her phone number.

Incidentally, there's no guilt in pausing for an ad with a hottie as you thumb through a magazine or catalog. It's not pornography, it's not adultery and your views on sex and the sanctity of marriage don't matter. The response is hard-wired into your brain; if you still have a pulse, you'll respond. Male or female, humans associate physical beauty with superior reproductive capabilities. That's how nature works. And then you turn the page and read on...

 

[smartshooter.45]

I'd like to think I'm too sophisiticated to be duped. I do like to look at the ads but I see through the advertising. I have never bought anything due to this type of advertising.

same here

 

[danprkr]

You know I was thinking about this one again, and I realized something. Regardless of what we all say, we must be influenced by sex in the ads. Marketers are pretty savy, and if it didn't work they wouldn't keep spending money on it.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

A POS is still a POS whether there is a pretty girl next to it or not.

 

[Mt Shooter]

I didnt even notice the blond with the tight fitting red dress with her right leg hoisted up on the front of the latest issue of the blue press.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

The EAA girl bugs me the most, because it's clear she has no idea what she's doing.

The Kahr girls are mildly irritating.

The Dillon girls almost always get my Blue Press thrown out by my wife.

 

[jayjaypunisher]

I think that anyone says they DO NOT 100% get influenced by "SEX ADS" is a massive load, as mentioned if it didnt work companies wouldn't spend millions of dollars on the ads. I think we as guys might not even realize we've been sucked in. Think about it, strollin through the local guns galore shop, you see a smokin hot chick in basically rags almost seein a nip, you try and maintain your member from givin you away and see she's holding some new pistol, you look at it, and think wow thats a sexy .45 Auto, I really would like another one, open the mag and briefly read the specs, put it down and go ask the disgruntled counter worker if they have one of these new counter sniper delta force .45's, he shows ya one and it feels great in your hand, badabing badaboom your HAD, and it originated from a skank on a mag cover. Is this a bad thing? no not necessarily, you probably bought a .45 you will really enjoy but you were influenced by a hottie Advertisement. I wont lie, this story basically happened exactly that way to me a while back to me, still have and love the gun. Just my two cents

 

[jonboynumba1]

I think the above mentioned campaign from Khar is just low-brow and lame...it makes feel their product is somehow lesser for needing an add campagn like that. I think offering calendars and having bunnys at the shot show and all that is fine if it's your schtick...but most gun buyers are looking for quallity and reliabillity and at times maybe some look for cache' or a tough millitaristic image...or old world fine craftsmanship elevated to an artform in some highend guns. But very few are going to buy a gun thinking the waif model in the add will "want them" because they have a Moonie gun. The curves that sell guns are the high-end pics in the gun rags...not the models next to them in the crappy add campaigns (plus I would think it might hurt your sales image to female gun buyers...an ever growing segment of the market)

PS- I like women with curves...if you are going to have sexy women in your adds...I'd like them to look like "women"! not lil Euro-trash waif girls about to pass out from starvation.

 

[shockwave]

The response is hard-wired into your brain; if you still have a pulse, you'll respond.

That's the answer. The association between sex and the product isn't the object of the ad, rather, the pretty girl is supposed to get your attention and stop and get you looking at the ad. Anything else is subliminal.

 

[CraigC]

I'd be #102 and buy the Dodge Challenger, with or without hottie in the ad.

Mustangs........

I like the way you think! Make mine orange with a 6-speed, please.


Funny thing is, back when I was young and hardcore, the age you'd expect to be fully entranced by half naked chicks, it REALLY irritated me to see them. Whether it was in gun ads or draped across a custom truck or spiffy hot rod. I wanted to see the hardware, not the skank, she's in the way. Nowadays, I don't mind one bit and have been known to pause for extended periods if all the right curves are present. However, thin (read: scrawny) AIN'T sexy to me.

 

[KarenTOC]

plus I would think it might hurt your sales image to female gun buyers...an ever growing segment of the market

Actually, advertisers use sexy women to sell to women too. Men see the sexy woman and want her... women see the sexy woman and want to BE her.

I still say the Kahr ads are selling to women, not men, and for the very reasons that men don't like them: she's too skinny (women WANT to be too skinny); she's not particularly attractive (women don't like other women to be prettier); and she's wearing a great dress (women love clothes).